DM Pawned
by Firewalker711
Summary: After having the girls for sometime, I'm sure Gru would tend to neglect his minions. Not intentionally, but taking care of the girls is a full time job. After awhile, the minions would make their sentiments known. And somehow Gru would make it up to them by doing the simplest things.
1. Chapter 1

After dropping the girls off at school Gru stopped off at the coffeeshop, then headed on home. For the time being his plans were simply to grab the newspaper, plop down on the gator-couch and have a little rare time to himself. That is. . .until he pulled up and saw Dr. Nephario peeking out at him through the window. Immediately his eyes rolled with frustration. For the only time Nephario ever came up, was when something went wrong. Within seconds the door quickly opened, and he was standing out on the doorstep. At the same time Gru stepped out of the his transport vehicle and sighed heavily. "Al'right. . .What blew up dis time?"  
He asked, as Nephario followed him back inside the house.  
"Oh, nothin to speak of . . .But, I still need a word with you."  
"Well make it quick." Gru mimed, shaking the newspaper at him. "Because I got some catching up to do while de gurls are in school."

Putting his hands behind his back, Nephario replied, "Hmm. . .Well. Maybe you should be doing that with your minions."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well. . .They've been askin bout you. And some of them are starting to get a might agitated." This unexpected information actually intrigued Gru to setting the newspaper down.  
"Agitated? For what?"  
"Gru. . .When was the last time you've been down to their turf?"

Thrown off by that question, Gru thought about it, then nodded. "Oook. I know it's been awhile. . ."  
"A while? Try a _month!"_ Nephario lectured, as he sighed and looked away. "You used to go down there at least once a week to give them a little moral support. But now it's been so long, that they're starting to think you've abandoned them."

Taking that rather lightly Gru chuckled and replied, "Awww come on, now. I'm dere boss! Dey know how busy I am!"

"True. . .But. . you and me are all they know, Gru. They look at us more like parents, cause their genetic makeup has them like children. You _know_ that. And after awhile of being forgotten and neglected, children will grow resentful. . ."

Still in denial, Gru chuckled and replied,  
"Aww come on, now. It can't be dat bad. . ."

Not at all amused, Nephario replied, "You don't think so? Then I'll prove it."  
With that he grabbed the remote and pointed it at the big flat panel. There Gru found himself staring at Mark and Dave and Kevin, who were all down below in the control room, sitting in front of the surveillance monitors.

Unaware that they were being watched, Mark let out a frustrated scoff and said, "Beeg boss non scende mai più qui! _(Big boss never comes down here anymore!)_  
Sighing heavily Dave muttered, "Lo so. Ma lui ha le girls ora." _(I know. . .But he has the girls now. . .)_

Rather huffily, Mark folded his arms and angrily protested,  
"So?! Siamo stati qui prima!_ (So?! We were here first!)_

Rather sadly Kevin only shrugged and nodded, "Forse. Ma credo che si è dimenticato di noi."_ (Maybe. . .But I guess he forgot about us.)_

Jumping off the stool, Mark irritably muttered under his breath, "Hah! Beh, forse dovremmo dimenticare di lui!" _(Hah! Well maybe we should forget about him!)_ As he angrily walked away, the other two looked from him to themselves with shocked expressions on their faces. But that was nothing compared to the one on Gru's.

Gaping at the screen, Gru sighed, beginning to feel guilty. "Point received. . ." he muttered in a low voice. Thinking it over momentarily, he glanced sideways at Nephario and said, "I'll be back in a little while."

**An hour later. . .**

Steering a huge pallet with about ten wooden crates, Gru come off the transport pod and began heading toward the main sublevel where the majority of the minions hung out, and slept. As he headed toward their direction, he could hear the music echoing from ahead. Apparently they had the Jumbotron blaring from the auditorium, playing videos downloaded from the main computer uplink.  
As he approached the entrance, Gru could only stop and stare at the little world that they made for themselves. Their world, to which they made their home. Over the years they turned the sublevel dwelling it into a playful environment, with different games including a chess board, a ping pong table, a dart board, a miniature snack bar, and even a coffee machine! Gathered in groups, they chattered and socialized among themselves, just like a little community.  
Slowly shaking his head, Gru cleared his throat loud enough to get their attention. Throwing a hand on his hip, he loudly replied, "Hmmm. . .Sounds to me like you boys are managing just fine."

Eyes widening with surprise, a handful of them shouted, "_Boss_!" Thereafter they all ran up to him, some even hugging his legs with appreciation. Sighing with regret, Gru, nodded "Yeah, I know. . .I know. It's been awhile." he admitted, patting the top of their heads. "I've meesed you too. . ." Gradually, a few of them began to notice the crates on the pallet. Walking up to them rather cautiously, Larry the minion slowly looked up at Gru with excited suspicion. "Banana?"

Trying to remain cool about the situation, Gru raised an eyebrow and cracked a smile.  
"_Wellll_. . .Delivery isn't for a couple of weeks. But I thought I'd treat you boys ahead of time."  
This had Larry ecstatic, spinning around to the other excited minions. "Banana! Whoo-hoo!" he shouted, jumping up and down in a frenzy. This caused the others to become excited as well. "Banana? _Banana?_ Ooh! _Oooh!"_ Chuckling Gru shouted over them,

"Ooook. . .oook. We don't need a mob. You know de rules. Get in a line and we'll start handing dem out." As they ran off Gru shouted, "And no pushing!" Looking down at a handful of the minions he replied, "Tim, would you do me a favor?"  
"Certo boss. . ."  
"Would you and a few boys mind dispersing dese. Take a bunch for yourselves furst."  
"K-K. . ." Tim hollered, thereafter he took off hollering at the minions to get in a formation.

While they were distributing, Gru was walking around the turf with some of the minions, when he noticed that Tim began calling out Marks name. He was next on the list to receive his bunch, but was nowhere in the line. That's when Dave, who was helping Tim disperse, spotted him sitting at the snack bar. Giving Dave a nod, Tim handed him a clutch of bananas and he headed in Marks direction. "Hey-hey. . ." he called out, lightly tapping Mark on the arm enough to get his attention.

"Hmph?"  
"Banana?" Dave chimed, sliding them across the counter in his direction. Looking from them to him, Mark shook his head and gradually pushed them away. "Nahh. . ."

From the sidelines Gru's eyes widened with surprise. From the time Mark was cloned, he never refused any type of food, or reward. _Especially_ bananas! As a matter of fact, Gru actually reprimanded him a couple of times for getting too pushy in the lines! So for him to actually stay behind and refuse, Gru knew without a doubt he had gone too far. Unable to take much more, he muttered,

"A'right. . .enoughs, enough." Stepping out into the middle of the room, he held a hand up to get their attention. " Boys. . .gather around. I have something I need to say." Now as the minions began to gather around him. One by one, Gru stared down at them with great concern. "It has come to my attention dat some of you are not too happy with me." He boldly announced, as they looked up at him with surprise. Rather awkwardly, he threw both hands behind his back and said, "I know. . I haven't been down as much as I used to. But it's because I've been so occupied since de gurls got here." He replied, noticing how Mark sighed heavily and looked away. Seeing this troubled Gru to the point of him asking, "You don't regret dem being here. . .do you?"  
This unexpected question had Mark slowly looking up at him out the corner of his eye. As his head slowly shook, "No," Gru could read the guilty expression across his face. Feeling a little more at ease, Gru nodded then said, "Good. Because you have to understand dat they can't look after themselves de way you can. De're young. . .and taking care of dem is a full time job." Gradually Gru noticed the way Dave sadly looked up at him. Dave. . .his first, and most loyal minion. It caused him to smile and add, "But dat doesn't mean you've been _replaced,_ understand?" He stressed, gently patting the top of his head. "And I- apologize to those of you who feel dis way. . ." By the reassured smile on Daves face, Gru knew he'd won him over. But Mark on the other hand, was a different story. He said nothing. But merely folded his arms and glared down at the floor. Recalling what he'd said to Dave, Gru devilishly peered down at him and added, "After all. . _.you_ were here furst. . ."

Eyes widening, Mark gaped up at the smirk on his bosses face. By then he could no longer look at him, glaring down at the floor with humiliation. Smile disappearing, Gru sighed heavily and said, "I know you don't believe me. But one way or de other, I'm going to make up for de lost time. . ."

By the way Mark hurtfully looked up at him, Gru could tell he was not at all convinced. _"Hmph!"_ He scoffed under his breath, thereafter he jumped off his stool and attempted to leave the room.  
The sight of this suddenly panged at Gru's heart.  
Seeing the troubled expression on his face, Nephario desperately wanted to patch things up between them. Noticing the chessboard set up on the floor, he immediately got an idea. Looking at Gru, he quickly replied,

"And you can start right now, if you want. Oh _Maark_ . . ." he deliberately called out. "How bout a little game of chess with your boss, hmmm?"  
Strangely enough, Mark froze in his tracks. Then slowly he turned around. At the same time, Gru, knowing that he was a master at chess, leered at Nephario and mumbled,  
"Uhh. . .what are you trying to do? Make him feel wourse?"  
"Ooohh, of course not. It's just a little harmless game. Right Mark?" Nephario mimed with a grin. Now for the first time, a clever smirk crept over Marks face.  
Giving Gru a playful jeer, he cooed, "Certo. . .Boss." _(Sure Boss. . .)_ With that he quickly walked up to the table, and hopped up on the stool. Thinking this was going to another painful blow, Gru sighed and muttered, "A'right. Eeef you insist. . ."  
Deciding to be charitable, Mark pointed to the white pieces and eagerly nodded,  
"Ruch. . ." (You're move. . .)  
"Why thank you. . ." Gru playfully replied. . .having no idea what he was truly in for!


	2. Chapter 2

Within the first fifteen minutes, Gru realized that this wasn't going to be no easy windfall! For every move he'd make, Mark would counter move it with a strategy of his own, surrounding his primary pieces, until eventually. . .he would announce, _"Check!"_ Then hit the bell on the timer. (_Ding_!) Marveling up at him, Gru thought at first that it was beginners luck. At the same time, a handful of minions had gathered around, silently watching the two of them with big grins on their faces. As though they knew something he didn't know!  
Again. . .with no time at all, Mark had pawned one of Gru's queen pieces, flipping it down on the board. "_Cheeeck_. . ." Mark cooed, as Gru's mouth fell open with disbelief. Thereafter an amused grin crept his face, as though he'd caught on to this little game.

Artfully he looked up at Nephario, he hissed, "You set me up!"  
Trying not to laugh, Nephario mocked, "Oh, now what would ever give you _that_ idea?"  
"Ohhh, I don't know. . ." Gru cooed. "What are de odds of one of my minions excelling at Chess? A million to one?"

Leaning toward him rather secretively, Nephario replied in a low voice, "Well it's a constructive way for him to _vent._ . .Don't you think?"  
Immediately catching on, Gru nodded. "True. . ."  
Frankly. . .he'd rather have Mark beat him up at chess, then go on hating him! And by the grin on Marks face, Gru knew he was very content with just that! This caused him to playfully sneer back at Mark. "Oh, yeah?! Well it's on, now! You're move!"  
To which he did! The timer wasn't even cold yet, and he'd once again pawned Gru's king piece in less than 15 minutes!

"Check! Hee hee hee!"  
Utterly stunned, Gru's eyes widened with disbelief.

At the same time, Nephario grinned with satisfaction. "Looks like you've finally been outmatched. . ." he picked, as Mark and the others started giggling. Somewhat embarrassed, Gru playfully raised an arm and looked at his watch.

"Ohhhh, will you look at de time. I've got to get going. . ." He said, now getting up from the chair.  
"Oh. . .no. . no!" Mark shouted, jumping up and following him. "Pas fini!" _(Not finished!_)  
Knowing he was trapped, Gru chuckled and said, "I know. . .But seriously I have to go pick de gurls up from school. . ."  
"Na-uhh!" Mark playfully argued. Thereafter he began to flap his arms and cackle. "_Chicken_!" Peering down at him, Gru folded his arms with an amused smirk on his face. "Bac. . bac. . _.bacaack!"_ Now the others began laughing hysterically as Gru slowly shook his head. Playfully pointing a finger at him, Mark teased. "Funny! Hah! Hah!" Unable to help himself, Gru blurted out,

"Oh yeah?! You won't think eet's so funny when I dock your pay!"

For a minute little gasps were heard throughout the room. This included Mark, who looked like he'd gotten punched in the stomach. At the same time Nephario chuckled, "Gru. . ."  
"I'm joking. . ." Gru replied, beginning to laugh himself. "I would never do dat. . .Even eef I'm humiliated by a _banana!"_ He mocked, as Mark sighed with relief. "You happy now?"

"Si!" Mark answered, with a proud grin.  
"Good! Cause now I'm gonna have an excuse to come back and kick your leetle butt!"

Now through the giddiness, Marks smile slowly disappeared. And there returned that same look of hurt skepticism as before. Reading that, Gru reached into one of the crates and pulled out a bunch of bananas. Actually kneeling to his level he gave Mark a very serious gaze, then sincerely replied, "No hard feelings, a'right? Tings will be different from now on. I promise."

Touched beyond all reason, Mark slowly reached out and took the bananas from him. That's when for the first time ever, Gru saw the tears gleaming in his eyes. Then before he knew what was happening, he lunged forward giving Gru a big hug. "Ti amo, Boss. . ." (_Love you, Boss. . ._) he tearfully whispered.  
Eyes widening over what he'd said, Gru could feel himself getting a lump in his throat. For that was the first time that any of his minions had ever told him that! Giving Mark a gentle pat on the back he shyly replied, "Yeah? Well, same here." Now Gru noticed the way the other ones were looking at him with touched expressions on their little faces. Almost as if they wanted a hug themselves. This had him recalling the first time he'd kissed the girls goodnight, and found a mob of minions waiting for him in the hallway. All wanting a kiss too! Well wanting a hug was no different! But if Gru gave in this time, he'd be there all day! Letting Mark go, he roughly cleared his throat and stood up.  
"Ummm. . .I tink you boys have been off de clock long enough. De bombs aren't going to build demselves. . .So get back to wourk." He gently ordered, still trying to play the firm authority role. But as they all smiled with regard and walked away, Gru found himself smiling back, knowing deep down that he nowhere near as firm with them as he used to be. And he had the girls to thank for that!


End file.
